9-year-old chokes on hot dog, dies

Heimlich, efforts by school staff and EMTs fail to save LaPorte boy.

Heimlich, efforts by school staff and EMTs fail to save LaPorte boy.

September 14, 2006|STAN MADDUX Tribune Correspondent

LAPORTE -- A 9-year-old LaPorte boy is dead after a piece of a hot dog he was eating for lunch lodged in his throat. Juan Loera of the 300 block of Bond Street was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m. CDT Wednesday in the intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital in South Bend. Juan, a student at Hailmann Elementary School, was flown by helicopter to South Bend after his arrival at LaPorte Hospital. "To my knowledge he never regained consciousness," said St. Joseph County Deputy Coroner Charles Hurley. According to LaPorte police, Detective Mike Dove happened to be in the area Tuesday when he overheard a 911 dispatch just before noon and responded. Initially, 911 reported the child was choking, but moments later the information relayed by the dispatcher revealed the boy was not breathing, according to police. Dove found the boy on the lunch room floor being attended to by school personnel, who performed the Heimlich maneuver to try to clear his obstructed airway. In his report, Dove said he tried the Heimlich maneuver several times until paramedics took over. One of the emergency medical technicians removed a piece of hot dog from the boy's mouth before he was taken away by ambulance. Attempts to resuscitate the boy continued all the way to the hospital. Police said Dove was told as he was leaving the hospital the boy was breathing and registering a blood pressure. Whether he was on life support was not disclosed. Hurley said an autopsy Wednesday confirmed the boy's airway being obstructed led to his death. Because of its tubular shape, Hurley said, "a hot dog is one of the most dangerous (foods) a child can eat." Administrators from the LaPorte School Corp. along with counselors spent part of the day at Hailmann School helping students and teachers cope with their grief. "It's awful," said LaPorte school board President Carol Shinn. "I just feel incredibly sad for the family. My heart goes out to them."